


Whereabouts unknown

by NYWCgirl



Category: White Collar
Genre: Atonement - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Presumed Dead, Reunions, stolen art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 02:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11819322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: Peter goes in search for Neal after his son is born. He finds a trail, but is it Neal?





	Whereabouts unknown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pechika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pechika/gifts).



> This fic fills the ‘atonement’ square on my H/C Bingo card. It was written for Kanarek13 who ask for Peter walking into that room… see gif here: http://kanarek13.livejournal.com/215981.html  
> I hope I also filled Pipilj´s request for Neal doing social work in Paris, well it is not directly social work, but Neal tries to do good by returning stolen art.

 

463 days.

That is the amount of days Peter needed to find Neal Caffrey.

The newspaper hinting at the new security system for the Louvre, had Peter thinking Neal had chosen a different life, a life on the straight and narrow. At first he had let the information sink in. He first had to figure out how he was feeling about this. The first initial rush of relief was now gone and anger had set in. How could Neal had them go through all that pain? And it wasn´t just El and himself, he had witnessed how Mozzie had crumbled that day in the morgue. June, was devastated. But as always, Elizabeth had been the voice of reason and had pointed out whet Peter already knew, the Panters would have gone after anybody Neal held dear. In his own way, Neal had sacrificed himself for his loved ones.

So Peter decided to reach out and contacted the Louvre. But it turned out that there was no new security officer. Yes, they had a new security system and no, it couldn´t be bypassed or hacked.

If Neal wasn´t the new head of security, why had he hinted to the new security system? There was only one reason…

Neal Caffrey wouldn´t be able to resist a challenge like an unbeatable security system and even though he had hoped Neal would have changed his ways, a saying popped into his head. You can´t teach an old fox new tricks. It seems Peter Burked hadn´t taught Neal Caffrey anything. Neal was back doing what he did best. Now all he had to do was finding out which piece of art het had stolen to start the chase.

He explained to El what he found out and his working theory and that he needed to go after him. She agreed. She was on maternity leave anyway, so they decided she would join him on his trip to Paris. The same week, the Burke family took a plane heading for Paris. Once the baby and especially El and Peter themselves where un-jetlagged, Peter started his search.

They visited the Louvre, stood in line for the Mona Lisa, and walked through the Egyptian gallery, but Peter was only interested in the Impressionists. He studied them and asked if he could talk to the person responsible for security. An appointment was granted set. The man, Claude Fournier, explained to Peter that they hadn´t had a robbery in years. Peter asked if any of the Monets had been taken down for cleaning or any other reason. Yes, several of them had been taken down, but there was nothing to report about them. For a reason Peter couldn´t explain, he was convinced that ‘Environs de Honfleur neige’ was stolen, the staff at the Louvre only didn´t know it yet. The painting in front of him was probably a Caffrey reproduction. He couldn´t explain why the painting stood out, but he had seen that painting before, he just couldn´t pinpoint where he had seen it.

Peter went back to the hotel and started researching the painting. Tracking down the history of the painting, it turned out to be reported stolen after the war by a widow living in Austria. It all came back, he had seen the painting before. It was in one of the documents he had been studying when they were busy with the nazi loot.

There was a connection with Neal. And so Peter did what Peter does best, tracking down Neal Caffrey.

The Monet turned out to be seized during the second World War from a private collection. It didn´t take Peter long to find an address of descendants of the Jewish family. A family member was willing to talk to him, so he put his family in a car and drove to Austria. His suspicion seemed to come true when the elderly lady showed him the Monet. Peter didn´t need to authenticate the painting. He just knew this was the real deal. The lady was helpful but couldn´t tell him who returned the painting to her house. One day it was just hanging on the wall. That was two months ago.

They drove to Vienna where Peter explained to El he needed to follow Neal´s trail. She had smiled and told him to bring Neal back home. After a couple of days Visiting Vienna, enjoying his family, Peter put his wife and son on a plane back home and went in pursuit.

From there on, Peter could follow a trail, ‘Dame am fester’ in Germany, ‘Young girl and a Parrot in Belgium, a diamond necklace, a sculpture, even a precious Tora. All of these treasures returned to their rightful owners or their descendants. Justice for all these families after all these years.

 

* *  *

 

463 days.

It is the amount of days since he found the shipping container. It has been quite a journey.

And he here he stands, near a lake in Switzerland. Peter lets his gaze travel over the scenery. If his gut feeling is right, Neal is here. He sure does know how to pick a location. The half- finished villa is located on the top of a hill, overlooking the lake and its forests. There is nobody around, it looks like the construction is stopped for some reason.

Peter tries the door and just like the loft at June´s, the front door is not locked. Peter enters and slowly walks through the building. On one of the lower floors, there is some furniture in the otherwise deserted building. So someone is staying here. Peter walks further into the villa…

And there he is… in one of the red velvet couches, Neal. He seems to be sleeping, an arm supporting his head, fully dressed, through to Caffrey style, in a tuxedo.

‘Neal’ Peter softly calls out.

Neal wakes a bit disoriented, looks up, sees him and…

‘Peter?’

Peter swallows. It is Neal, it really is. His hair is shorter and he lost weight, but it really is him.

‘Yes, it´s me.’ Peter states hoarsely.

Neal jumps up from the chair and walks over before taking Peter into a bear hug.

‘It really is you.’

‘God Neal, you are alive, you…’

‘I´m sorry. I didn´t mean to hurt you, I really didn´t. I…’

‘It´s OK. I found you. I will always find you.’

Eventually they let go of each other. Peter sits down next to Neal.

‘Where are we going from here?’

‘You tell me, Neal. You tell me.’


End file.
